Vincent H. O'Neil

My sci-fi horror story "Point of Contact" is in the latest issue of the acclaimed UK science fiction magazine PARSEC. It's the story of an offie worker who has a strange encounter in the middle of a crowded sidewalk and begins to suspect an entity has somehow accessed his memories. 

"I'm beginning this story in the second week of our voyage, because we lost half our number in the first week. And there won't be a third."

 

I'm pleased to announce that my sci-fi short story "Emptying the Bunkhouse" is in the newest edition of Bourbon Penn magazine.

 

You can read the whole story here:

https://bourbonpenn.com/issue/20/emptying-the-bunkhouse-by-vincent-h-oneil.php

 

Emptying the Bunkhouse

Harper Voyager just released the fifth and final novel in my military science fiction Sim War series--LIVE ECHOES.

In order, the series is GLORY MAIN, ORPHAN BRIGADE, DIRE STEPS, CHOP LINE, and LIVE ECHOES.

THE THRILLING CONCLUSION OF THE SIM WAR SERIES

There’s new hope for resolution of the decades-long war against the  Read More 

HarperCollins has launched the fourth book (of five) in my military science fiction Sim War series--CHOP Line.

The ebook is now available, and the paperback will be released on December 27th.

https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062471673/chop-line

Here's the description, and I hope you enjoy CHOP Line:

Things are looking grim for the human Alliance  Read More 

Recognizing that the holidays can get a little costly, I approached the good folks at Harper Voyager about reducing the ebook price of my next novel, ORPHAN BRIGADE -- and they agreed.

ORPHAN BRIGADE is the sequel to my mil sci-fi novel of survival GLORY MAIN (on sale now in both ebook and paperback)  Read More 

Tell us about yourself

I’m Vincent H. O’Neil, and I’m the author of the new mil sci-fi “Sim War” series (Glory Main and Orphan Brigade) from HarperVoyager, writing as Henry V. O’Neil. I’m also the author of a four-novel murder mystery series from St. Martin’s Press (Murder in  Read More 

Today, HarperVoyager asked its veteran authors to blog about the ways their military service affects their writing. Here's my part:

I graduated from West Point in 1985, and spent the next few years as an officer in the US Army Infantry. I was a platoon leader with the 10th Mountain Division at the newly-activated Fort  Read More 

My military science fiction tale of survival, GLORY MAIN, is on sale for 99 cents as an ebook until November 4, 2014. Here's a brief description:

For decades, mankind has been locked in a war with an alien enemy that resembles the human race so closely they are known as the Sims. Both sides battle for control  Read More 

Here's what the good folks at the Spec Fiction Hub had to say about GLORY MAIN:

Glory Main is one of those books, once started, you cannot put down. Classic military science fiction, Glory Main harks back to the likes of Heinlein’s Starship Troopers, Barry B. Longyear Enemy Mine, and David Weber’s Honor Harrington series of novels, and along with well fleshed out characters, clever world-building, is a fast-paced gripping read.

Featuring a small diverse group of enduring characters who are thrown headlong into a life or death survival situation, Glory Main jumps right in at the deep-end. Our cast of struggling survivors include a young, greenhorn lieutenant, a shipboard shrink, a Spartacan Scout, read: special forces commando type, and a map-maker who also happens to be a conscientious objector. This alone should tell you what to expect from four such opposed personalities. Throw in they’re stranded on a harsh almost barren world amid a bitter and terrible war, were lies from Command are the norm. And fighting not only themselves, the local flora and fauna, and a slow death by starvation, but an enemy who, as it turns out, looks like them—The Sims. The simulants. The facsimiles—And the stage is set for one hell of a battle of survival, wits, determination and sheer will against the mounting odds.

Plausibly written throughout, the tech and its use in Glory Main is very familiar and yet, still manages to have the futuristic and otherworldly edge to it. As does the setting. Just when we think we understand what’s going on, O’Neil tosses in another roadblock and obstacle for the characters to over come. But far from painting his characters into tight corners, creating either false jeopardy or contriving situations, you feel you are there, on this gritty, unforgiving world suffering through the worst with each and every character. And while written in the first person POV, as seen through the eyes of Mortas, the story still unfolds naturally, and realistically.

The best part of any story, for me at least, is whether or not the author manages to pull off a plausible blindside, something O’Neil does right near the end, in Glory Main. Not only was I (like many I suspect) happily surprised with a clever plot twist, but I suspect O’Neil has set us up for what we know must come in successive installments. And yes, I can’t wait for the next in the series. The world-building, language, descriptions and info dumps—when they came—never once over shadowed or weighed the story down and the pacing was near on perfect.

All-in-all, Glory Main is a well-written, fast, and compelling read. Henry O’Neil certainly knows the military, and knows how to craft an engrossing story. And whether or not you enjoy reading military science fiction or not, the story, which is character-driven and character-based, is still worth a read!

Glory Main is everything an updated version of Starship Troopers should be, a cracking good read.

http://www.spec-fiction.ca/glory-main-review/

 Read More 

My military science fiction novel GLORY MAIN is now available for pre-order from HarperCollins!

The ebook will be released on July 29th, and the paperback will be released on September 2nd. Available from all major booksellers, as well as the HarperCollins website.

Here's a description:

For decades, mankind has been at war with an  Read More